Sasser virus writer trial date set

A German court has set aside three days in July to try the teenager accused of creating the Sasser worm.

Sven Jaschan faces charges including computer sabotage and disruption of business. The trial of the 19-year-old will start on 5 July and will be held behind closed doors because Jaschan was a minor at the time of the alleged crime, according to the court in Verden.

Authorities have said that Jaschan has confessed to creating and releasing both Sasser and several variants of the Netsky virus. Jaschan, a resident of the town of Waffensen, was arrested in May last year after Microsoft received a tip from an informant seeking a reward.

The Sasser worm and its six known variants started spreading in May last year and compromised hundreds of thousands of computers running the Windows operating system.

Last year Jaschan shot into the annual silicon.com Agenda Setters poll as his arrest and the role played by Microsoft's bounty looked set to mark a milestone in the battle against virus writers.

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com